Well before we get into it let me just say I hope you are reading this at a time where this football game will be played as scheduled, unlike last weeks now postponed UC/Tulsa game.
The Bearcats after having two full weeks between games will now travel down to Dallas, Texas as they face a very dangerous SMU team that comes into the game with a 5-0 (2-0 in the AAC) record and currently sit ranked 16th in the nation. Where Tulsa was going to be a rock fight with both defenses dictating the pace, this game is the opposite. UC is going to need to bring the best offense of its young season because the one sure thing about SMU is they are going to get up and down the football field. Through five games the lowest output of the season for the Mustangs was a 30-27 win over Memphis and twice this season they’ve gone over 50 points in a game. How do they do it? By bringing a very deadly, but balanced offensive attack each week.
The quarterback for this Mustangs team is junior Shane Buechele. Buechele and the Mustangs average 342.0 yards passing a game (359.2 total passing yards a game) and he is completing passes at a rate of 67.2%. If you are curious, Desmond Ridder stands at 199.0 yards a game with a completion rate of 60.3%. To put it simply, Buechele can throw the hell out of the ball and has done so this year to the sum of 1,710 yards and 12 touchdowns. This will be a massive test for the Bearcats secondary.
The SMU ground attack took a hit earlier this year as running back TJ McDaniel was injured and ruled out for the year. McDaniel had posted 297 yards and a touchdown at the time of his injury. Not skipping a beat in his absence however, has been redshirt freshman Ulysses Bentley IV. Bentley is now the guy for the Mustangs and he will hit the field Saturday night with a whopping 6.8 yard per carry average (avg. 101.3 yards a game so far) and a total of 506 yards to go with his eight rushing touchdowns, all team highs. What will help UC defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman is that injury to McDaniel and the fact that Bentley isn’t used in the passing game much means the defense can out their sole focus into preparing to stop Bentley on the ground and they certainly have the defensive front to do so.
